soaphouse's January 2008 Entries

Over the last couple of days I have gotten some fun things done by the creek! I picked up some creeping jenny plants for the opposite bank side...of course, after planting them, I also drove stakes through the root ball to hold them in. The water usually doesn't come up this high though....

Today, I also decided to try digging in some stairs. I am not sure if they will stay put with a heavy rain and the rushing creek water, but this whole thing is an experiment... I used some pavers that were on our property when we moved in and have just been sitting in a pile. I figure this way, if it doesn't work out...I haven't spent $ on nice pavers and I am only out about an hour of time. If it does hold up....I may change out the pavers over time for nicer ones. I also transplanted some variagated ivy pieces in between the blocks, so hopefully they will grow in nicely. I pinned them down with landscape pins.

Not too shabby for an hour's worth of work and free materials! I finished just in time for the forcasted rain, so these pictures might be the only thing left of this by morning :0

I also spent some time getting more brush to the curb...I will do more of that tomorrow

Wow, I never thought I would be able to write this entry! Its finished! All of the brush, limbs, vines, and trees has been removed from the creek! Its the first time we have seen this 80+ foot area of creek line on our property since we bought this house. It has always been overgrown...and now, it is beautiful! Its will be even prettier when I start to plant it up! My husband brought his chainsaw out yesterday to help me get the last of it:

Looking at this pict gives a good idea of scale too! He took down 3 trees over 30 feet tall and 4 or 5 smaller trees! So nice to have his help. Here I am, doing the final pruning:

Then, after a pass with the weedeater and moving all the limbs and brush over the fence, all done!

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Of course, I still have to get all of that brush to the curb, but that can wait until this next week. Here is a shot w/o the fence in it:

I also used my panoramic photo stitch utility on my computer to merge some shots together to give an overall picture of the area.

I can hardly believe its finally cleaned up and ready for plants! SO EXCITING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After discussing the area with my mom (who is a landscape designer) I decided against the mountain laurels for the shrub screen on the far left. She said they tend to not do as well here in our climate and that they are more suited for mountainous regions (hence the name i suppose) and that they are fairly prone to disease and become spindly with age. She suggested Acubas which I think would be much better! I was hesitant to do those at first b/c they grow very slow here and larger sizes at the nursery tend to be on the pricier side. But, it really is a better choice and I want to do it right b/c I have put some much time and sweat into this project already. SO FUN to dream of all the possibilities.

Today, I transplanted all the wax mahonias and nandinas that I found on the other side of the creek. Turns out there were more than I thought: about 27 mahonias and 2 nandinas!

Here is a picture of the area before:

And after:

I know out of the 27...a few are bound to grow in niceley :)

I put the two nandinas in a pot that lives in the front by the gate:

I think it looks pretty nice. Plus, can't beat free!!!

I am starting to think about what I might want to plant on the opposite side of the creek, where the bank is really high. Our property extends about 4 feet beyond that. I would like to just plant some dense, evergreen shade shrubs that will help ward off the privet. Any ideas would be great!

On the far right of this picture, I will plant a weeping willow. So I need some ideas for the area to the left of that. In the low part...near the creek, I will be putting my great Gunnera that I have on order. ITS STARTING TO COME TOGETHER!!!!

Tomorrow, hubby has promised to get back there with his chain saw and take down what I can't get with my loppers :)

Its been a great couple of days in the garden! Yesterday, I spent the entire afternoon after I got off of work, working on the creek. It was very satisfying as I was finally able to venture to the other side of the creek! I thought that would never happen. Especially when you look at where all this started:

In case you are wondering where the creek is in that shot...its to the left of the fence, under all the brush! Its very encouraging to look back at this to see how far I have come. Sometimes it seems like I will never finish this, but when I look at how far I have come, I know I will! Here are some current shots of the creek:

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This afternoon I worked on getting the brush to the curb. The hardest part of this was that all of the brush had to travel over the creek and then over the fence then through the gate, then all the way to the curb! I was very thankful for my galoshes. Needless to say, Privet is now a very bad word in my world! I was online the other day browsing nurseries and one had gallon privet for sale for $19.95!!! I could make a fortune, just sell what I am ripping out :) Why can't something amazing be invasive...like peonies or something! But, I digress...

I did place another plant order for the "bones" of this project:

3 Green Giant Arborvities (for a fast growing evergreen screen on the other side of the creek at our property line.)

2 Weeping Willows (one for each bank side to help with erosion)

1 Colorado Blue Spruce (which is actually for the area in the back where we took out the maple)

I also found a lot of volunteer wax mahonias back there that I will transplant so that they can thrive and be enjoyed. Also, one nandina that I will dig up for a container in the front yard. And, some nice woodland ferns that I uncovered and will hopefully do better now that they are not crowded by privet! Gotta love free plant suprises :)

Its just so exciting to see this all coming together!

On another note, my arbor came in the mail last night and I got it all assembled and installed:

On the left side, I planted a honeysuckle vine of some sort that was passed down from my mother. I am not sure of the variety. It is desiduous and had really neat seed pods in the fall that hang down. On the right side of this arbor, I plan to put out miniature gourd vine seeds. I think if this works...it will be really cool to see the gourds hanging down through the arbor!

I suppose the best part of winter gardening is getting all those catolog orders in the mail! I thought my new arbor was going to be awaiting me when I got home from work today...it was not. :( But, I was greeted by my Burpee seed order! YEAH! Most of these seeds will be used in my new sunny bed by the back porch. Here is a break down of my goodies:

Also, the yard trash pick up came, so after work tomorrow I can spend more time dragging creek brush to the curb. My hubby said he will get back there with his new chain saw this weekend and help really clean out some of the remaining big stuff! YEAH!

Jan 21, 2008 | 4:41 PM PST
Tags:
azalea
, shade garden
, astilbe
, japanese painted fern
, mossI just finished reading my fine Gardening design ideas issue, for shade gardens. Fabulous! I am so inspired to tackle the beautification of the azalea bed! I can't wait to add japanese forest grass, painted fern, astilbes, and lots of other shade goodies! There was also a fabulous article on moss and I think I can implement those ideas around the creek. FUN! Can't wait to get started :)

Well, yesterday we had snow all day...with accumulation, which is very unusual for us here! Of course b/c of snow...I am sure you can all imagine that it was quite cold! This means my plans for more creek clean up were put to a rest for this weekend at least. But, it did give me a good chance to get some things done inside the house. I worked on painting the nursery for the little one to come and I spent some time tootling around on various gardening websites. But, most exciting of all is that I got all of my past blog entries printed out and put in a 3 ring binder. I had NO idea how much I had written! I have enjoyed and found it very helpful in the past to look over my old entries. Now that they are all on paper...I have a great essay of the garden for most of last season and I can write notes in the margins and highlight and it will be just a great resource for future garden planning. It ended up being over 300 pages of blog entries! Now, I will try to maintain the discipline of printing out my blog on a monthly basis so that I always have it up to date.

One thing that I have found most helpful with it right now is looking back on the creek project and the progress. I am really starting to plan what to plant in that area as it is almost cleared out....but, since everything is dormant right now, looking back at old entries has really helped me notice where I still need to clean out and areas of sun and shade.

I have also been making a lot of mental to do lists for future garden projects. I think I ought to get them down on "paper":

Work on Hosta/Hydrangea Bed

-I already transplanted the Hydrangeas to better locations, now I need to top dress with compost in the spring, then divide and transplant any hostas that need help. I also hope to add some new varieties of hostas. I am thinking I would also like to add some fatsia japonicas in the back to help hide the chain link fence.

I also have many plants that I would like to divide and move around the garden:

-Ajuga

-Daylilies

-Lambs Ear

-Creeping Flox

-Hardy Begonia

-Vinca Minor and Vinca Major

I also have a list of plants I would like to add to the garden this year (don't we all!):

- New sunny bed where we took out the maple: 3 or 5 false threaded cypress, Some fun varieties of conifers, possibly the tree peonie that I just ordered and maybe the hardy fuchsias as well.

-New Porch Bedthat I just created and got ready for planting: Sweet Pea VInes, Sunflowers, Bells of Ireland and something low growing for the front.

-For the New Arbor that I am awaiting in the mail: It will go in the side yard on the right side of the house and I will plant a deciduous honeysuckle vine on the left side and I will put miniature ornamental gourd seeds on the other side. I am thinking the gourds will look so cools hanging there in the winter!

-For the Never Ending Creek Project: Great Gunnera on bank side. 3 Green Giant Arborvities on property line to hide neighbors, Weeping willow tree on bank to prevent erosion problem. Lots of woodland fern varieties...and next fall I will add some bulbs to it as well! I would also like to add an arbor at the gate entrance and grow a Joseph's Coat Rose on it.

-Veggie Garden: I am going to plant mostly plants this year from the local nursery so that if we are still in a level 4 drought, I will have a better chance at success...I plan to do: cherry tomatoes, pole beans and sugar snaps, Sweet Potatoes (purchased the starts already from Burpee), Spinach, Purple Brussle Sprouts, Asparagus and Artichokes (that I will purchase from Territorial Seed Company), and whatever else looks fun from the nursery. I will be doing a lot of companion planting as well so that means lots of: asters, dill, coriander, cosmos, basil, garlic, dill, basil and radishes...oh and onions too! I hope to have a couple more raised beds built so I will have lots of room for all this!

-I also would like to beef up the shade bed where the azalea bed is. I haven't really ever done much with this for many reasons: Its in the back yard, so it is just now starting to get the attention it deserves, azaleas really are not my favorite things, but they are in good shape and they were here when we moved in, because they are not what I would have chosen, I think I have a hard time envisioning what else to do there. Also, it is one of the only deeply shaded spots in my yard, so I haven't learned a lot yet about shade gardening. I did plant a lot of daffodils there this fall , so I know that will be nice in early spring. I want to make it super pretty b/c it is my view out the kitchen window and I see it very regularly when I do the dishes.

- I want to get some more knock out roses to plant at the base of my new sculpture in the front window seat bed.

- And finally, I would like to add more flowering evergreen vines to my chain link fence in the ongoing effort to cover it up. The carolina jessamine and honeysuckles have done particularlily well, so I think I will get some of those.

-I am sure that, in reality, only about half of this will get done, but I will end up doing a million other things that weren't even on my list. Thats always how it goes...but thats the fun of it! There is always something unexpected and tempting at the nursery that must be taken home :)

Whew....now that I got that out of my system!

It will be great to look back on this and see what ends up getting done! LOL

Once the weather warmed up and it dried out a bit...I headed out to do more creek clean up. It really is starting to take shape and all the dreams I had for it can now become a reality!

I have also been taking time the last couple of days to print out all of my blog entries. I find it so helpful to look back on the past pictures, successes, and failures when thinking of the future in my garden. I plan on putting all the pages in a binder and keeping them for future reference. Of course, that means lots of time at the computer, so I am looking through all the catalogs that have been flooding my mailbox and I have been ordering some fun things!

I placed a great order today with Van Bourgondein......

<em>The main thing I am excited about is a "Great Gunnera" for the creek!

This is of course, the pict from the website, but I have very high hopes that the bare root that will arrive in the mail, will look like this beauty one day! The website said it is perfect for creek banks and likes wet feet. The leaves are said to get up to 6 feet accross!!!!

I also ordered a Kamata-nishiki tree peony (which I have always wanted) and a collection of hardy fuchsias!

<em>I couldn't resist all this temptation....they even had an offer of $25 off!

SO FUN!

Tomorrow I will work on more creek clean out so that when my goodies arrive I can put them in the ground...

After work yesterday, I went by the local nursery...which I figured I was crazy because the news was talking about snow and sleet and ice coming later that afternoon and into evening. But, I thought I might find some good deals at the nursery and I have LOTS on my list of plants I want to add to the garden. So, all bundled up...my girl and I went plant shopping. Of course I didn't end up buying anything on sale, but I did get a BEAUTIFUL camellia sasanqua 'kanjiro'. I spent a little more and bought a 4 gallon size so that I can appreciate it more readily and not have to worry about the dogs trampling it. I placed it strategically so that it will be a great focal point for me as I do dishes :)

I also got a Lilac 'Angel White' variety. Its fairly small and doesn't look like much now, but I selected it over their other varieties b/c the tag said it was a fast grower reaching 10 feet by 10 feet and does well in warmer wintered climates. I planted it in the back of the azalea bed for some more interest. It will be fun to see how it does!

I then finished spreading the mulch pile and got more privet from the creek clean up to the curb. I just was finishing up my chores when it started SNOWING!!!!!!!!! That very rarely happens here in Hotlanta. So fun! I ran inside to grab blankets to cover everything that had new buds on it from the warm weather last week and made sure to cover my newly planted items. Once I got that done....I got some great picts of the garden in the snow and then my little girl had so much fun playing in her first snow!

A couple of days ago I ordered a metal arbor on line that was on sale for a great price and free shipping. I also ordered a great selection of seeds from Burpee. Can't wait for their arrival.

The snow is already melting this morning. It is supposed to get in the 40's today. I may do a bit more creek clean up this afternoon. I am LOVING checking off so many things on my gardening to do list!

I had another great weekend in the garden. Got LOTS done as I am taking advantage of the warm daytime temps we have been having lately. I spent so much time on the front yard this past growing season, that now I am excited to get more work done in the back. I have been doing things such as defining the beds and putting in paths. I ordered another load of the free woodchips from the city and got busy spreading it:

I laid down a path in between the beds leading to the back. The bed to the left contains hydrangeas and hostas. I just transplanted all the hydrangeas to a better layout and added 2 variegated hydrangeas on either side of the sweet gum tree - I am looking forward to seeing how it looks come spring.

Here is the same path, from the back view:

My husband cut down the remainder of the trunk of the tree we took out last weekend. He was excited, because this meant he got to buy an electric chain saw. He always loves getting new toys...as you can see it definately did the trick:

I also transplanted the nandinas that were in the front of this tree over to another space so that now I have room to put in a nice conifer garden :) I also finished spreading all the pine straw (this helped to define the beds and create some new planting areas in the back yard. Here is a good shot of the back yard as of today:

The creek area even got some attention this weekend. Once I finish dragging the brush to the curb, it will be all cleared and ready to plant up with ground covers and ferns. I also plan to put an arbor at the gate with a nice vine on it and an outdoor hammock so that the area can be fully enjoyed!

I am interested to see what survived out of my bargain fern purchases that I planted back here in late summer. Once the drought hit, they began to suffer...so we will see. The creeping euonymous is doing well, however :)

On the list for this week: finish spreading wood chip pile and dragging creek brush to curb!

Thank you for the advice and ideas on what to do in the blank spot by my window seat. I decided to do a sculpture (the final product came from chatting about it with my Mother In Law). I didn't want to do another vine on a trellis because I thought that would be too symmetrical and matchy matchy. I love the idea of doing something fragrant...but the window on the window seat doesn't open...so it wouldn't get appreciated. The other thing I was really leaning towards was a nice evergreen, but I was worried how well it would do right up against the house. And, to get the instant gratification that I wanted, I would have to spend a small fortune to get a good size plant. So, a sculpture it is!

I took advantage of the after Christmas sales. The tall pole has a large Christmas ornament on top and all 3 have little christmas balls wired around them. The other 2 balls are "gazing" balls that I got at Old TIme Pottery for super cheap. The pipes are from the plumbing section at Home Depot. I think they pull in the iron on our shutter hardware in nicely.

I really am very happy with how they turned out! It will be fun to see how they weather. I also think I will get a clematis to grow up them. Or, I may do an annual sweet pea vine. And, the best part about going with a sculpture....no pruning or weeding. And, its drought tolerant! LOL!

We had quite the weekend in the garden! Very productive! I got a lot of things checked off of my to do list :) I divided some Iris, transplanted some cannas to pots, spread pine straw in the back yard, moved a pile of compost to the veggie bed, planted 70 allium bulbs and started the sculpture for the front window seat bed. But, most noteworthy is the 30 foot tree my husband took out for me! I felt kinda bad as it is a nice tree, however...it had been planted way too close to the tree next to it and during the growing season, it was growing crooked trying to reach the sun. Not a huge problem now, but would be in the future and then would be too costly to fix, so my hubby took it out.

Before:

During:

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After:

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Its funny, it looked much larger once it was on the ground LOL! Now it will be another chore getting rid of all the brush! Whats going in its place? 3 Threaded False Cypress and possibly a blue evergreen of some sort. The vines are doing fun things right now too. The winter jasmine is just starting to bloom :) I look forward to watching them in the spring as they cover the chain link fence.

This week I will finish spreading the pine straw in the back and will finish up the sculpture in the front. But I tell ya, I sure am worn out! I don't have quite to energy now that I am 6 mo pregnant. I guess I better get as much done as I can before I am 9 mo!